Cleat Structure Research Articles

Fatigue Life Analysis of Mooring Cleats on The N219A Aircraft Floater Based on Numerical Simulation

One of the procedures for rescuing a seaplane after an operational is to secure it, namely by mooring at an available port or mooring at a mooring buoy. This mooring buoy is considered a vehicle necessary for securing seaplanes in coastal conditions where it is not yet possible to build infrastructure in the form of an amphiport. To overcome this problem, seaplanes need to add a mooring cleat at the end of the bow of each float, which attaches the rope to the mooring buoy itself. So, it is necessary to study the strength of the mooring cleat itself when withstanding environmental loads. This study was carried out by modelling the mooring cleat using the finite element method to determine where the most significant stresses occur in the mooring cleat structure. Mooring cleats are modelled on deck thickness with varying thicknesses of 20mm and 40mm. The stress that occurred in the mooring cleat structure is then calculated using the Palmgren-Miner rule to determine the fatigue life of the mooring cleat for each variation. It was found that the largest von Misses stress experienced by the structure using 7075-T6 aluminium material was 147.87 MPa, which occurred in the mooring cleat, which was located on the 20mm deck thickness variation at the portside. Meanwhile, this variation's most extended fatigue life calculation occurred for the 40mm deck thickness variation on the portside with 514.43 years.

Visualizing experimental investigation on gas–liquid replacements in a microcleat model using the reconstruction method

AbstractCleats are the main channels for fluid transport in coal reservoirs. However, the microscale flow characteristics of both gas and water phases in primary cleats have not been fully studied as yet. Accordingly, the local morphological features of the cleat were determined using image processing technology and a transparent cleat structure model was constructed by microfluidic lithography using the multiphase fluid visualization test system. Besides, the effect of microchannel tortuosity characteristics on two‐phase flow was analyzed in this study. The results are as follows: (1) The local width of the original cleat structure of coal was strongly nonhomogeneous. The cleats showed contraction and expansion in the horizontal direction and undulating characteristics in the vertical direction. (2) The transient flow velocity fluctuated due to the structural characteristics of the primary cleat. The water‐driven gas interface showed concave and convex instability during flow, whereas the gas‐driven water interface presented a relatively stable concave surface. (3) The meniscus advanced in a symmetrical pattern in the flat channel, and the flow stagnated due to the influence of undulation points in a partially curved channel. The flow would continue only when the meniscus surface bypassed the stagnation point and reached a new equilibrium position. (4) Enhanced shearing at the gas–liquid interface increased the gas‐injection pressure, which in turn increased residual liquids in wall grooves and liquid films on the wall surface.

Prospect Analysis of Paleocene Coalbed Methane: A Case Study of Hangu Formation, Trans-Indus Ranges, Pakistan

The methane trapped in the coal seams has emerged as an unconventional clean energy resource worldwide in this century. The proximate composition, ultimate content, cleat structure, porosity type, and pore structures are the debatable components for its trapping mechanism. Further, the brittle and ductile properties of minerals influence in the extraction of the methane from the coal seams. In this research, Coalbed methane prospect is demonstrated by analysing the Hangu Formation’s coal seam of Trans-Indus Ranges, Pakistan. This case study is helpful to find the occurrence, trapping ability, and methane extraction capacity in its cleat structures and pores. A number of samples were tested from the different coal mines in terms of these debatable components. The results indicate that the rank of studied coal is bituminous to subbituminous in which the carbon ratio, volatile matter, and sulfur contents are increasing with depth towards the south. The transitional connected face and butt cleats are partially filled with minerals and the intergranular, dissolved, and tissue pore types are also identified in it. It can be helpful for the occurrence, migration, and trapping of methane. Furthermore, the higher surface areas and cumulative pore volumes enhance the capacity of gas adsorption with depth in the study area. Moreover, the increasing brittle minerals in the coal composition towards the south can be helpful for the fracking of coal seams for economical gas extraction. It is suggested that this workflow can be implemented in any region with same coal rank and cleat types.

Influences of Coal Properties on the Principal Permeability Tensor during Primary Coalbed Methane Recovery: A Parametric Study

Coal permeability is intrinsically anisotropic because of the cleat structure of coal. Therefore, coal permeability can be denoted by a second-order tensor under three-dimensional conditions. Our previous paper proposed an analytical model of the principal permeability tensor of coal during primary coalbed methane (CBM) recovery. Based on this model, 18 modeling cases were considered in the present study to evaluate how the principal permeabilities were influenced by representative coal properties (the areal porosity, the internal swelling ratio, and the Young modulus) during primary CBM recovery. The modeling results show that with regard to the influences of the areal porosity on the principal permeabilities, an increase in cleat porosity reduces the sensitivity of each principal permeability to pore pressure change. The magnitudes of the principal permeabilities are positively proportional to the internal swelling ratio. The principal permeabilities thus tend to monotonically increase with a depletion in the pore pressure when the internal swelling ratio increases. Because the internal swelling ratio represents the extent of gas-sorption-induced matrix deformation, an increase in the internal swelling ratio increases desorption-induced matrix shrinkage and thus induces an increase in permeability. The principal permeabilities are positively proportional to the isotropic principal Young moduli and the synchronously changing anisotropic principal Young moduli. On the other hand, the principal Young modulus within the plane of isotropy influences the principal permeabilities within this plane in diverse patterns depending on both the dip angle of the coalbed and the pitch angle of the cleat sets. The principal permeability perpendicular to the plane of isotropy is positively proportional to this principal Young modulus, and this correlation pattern is independent of both the dip angle and pitch angle.

Modeling of Coal Matrix Apparent Strains for Sorbing Gases Using a Transversely Isotropic Approach

Gas sorption-induced coal deformation is one of the primary geomechanics effect in coalbed methane (CBM) engineering. Coal is known to have transversely isotropic properties because of its cleat structure. We propose a new theoretical approach to modeling the strain behavior of bulk coal by including sorption-induced matrix shrinkage/swelling strain, cleat volume strain and matrix mechanical strain resulting from changes in pore pressure, and external stresses. The new model framework can define the apparent bulk coal volume with respect to the variation in gas pressure. To validate the model, unconstrained gas flooding experiments were conducted with helium, methane and carbon dioxide injections. The experimental data agreed well with the modeled strain evolution results under hydrostatic conditions and at the injection pressure conditions. The results show that the degree of anisotropy is ~ 1.6 for helium injection, comparing the strains perpendicular to and parallel to the bedding plane. The results demonstrate that the volumetric strains closely correlate to the sorption capability of coal. The maximum volumetric strain induced by carbon dioxide injection can reach ~ 2.05% as gas pressure increases up to ~ 5.43 MPa, which is ~ 2.77 times that of the methane-induced volumetric strain of ~ 0.74% at a gas pressure of ~ 5.45 MPa. The proposed model can be simplified to be equivalent to the commonly extended Langmuir-type strain model at relatively low gas pressure for bulk coal with low cleat porosity. The proposed model can also successfully cover the volumetric response of bulk coal for high pressures that range beyond 13 MPa. A sensitivity study shows that Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio, and the degree of anisotropy affect the volumetric responses differently at various pressure stages, but the effects are always distinct for high-pressure injections. The proposed model framework can be coupled into a coal dynamic permeability model for defining the permeability evolution—which is important for gas production predictions for CBM wells.

Mathematical model of methane driven by hydraulic fracturing in gassy coal seams

During hydraulic fracturing in gassy coal, methane is driven by hydraulic fracturing. However, its mathematical model has not been established yet. Based on the theory of ‘dual-porosity and dual-permeability’ fluid seepage, a mathematical model is established, with the cleat structure, main hydraulic fracture and methane driven by hydraulic fracturing considered simultaneously. With the help of the COMSOL Multiphysics software, the numerical solution of the mathematical model is obtained. In addition, the space–time rules of water and methane saturation, pore pressure and its gradient are obtained. It is concluded that (1) along the direction of the methane driven by hydraulic fracturing, the pore pressure at the cleat demonstrates a trend of first decreasing and later increasing. The pore pressure gradient exhibits certain regional characteristics along the direction of the methane driven by hydraulic fracturing. (2) Along the direction of the methane driven by hydraulic fracturing, the water saturation exhibits a decreasing trend; however, near the cleat or hydraulic fracture, the water saturation first increases and later decreases. The water saturation in the central region of the coal matrix block is smaller than that of its surrounding region, while the saturation of water in the entire matrix block is greater than that in the cleat or hydraulic fracture surrounding the matrix block. The water saturation at the same space point increases gradually with the time progression. The space–time distribution rules of methane saturation are contrary to those of the water saturation. (3) The free methane driven by hydraulic fracturing includes the original free methane and the free methane desorbed from the adsorption methane. The reduction rate of the adsorption methane is larger than that of free methane.

Cleat structure analysis and permeability simulation of coal samples based on micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and scan electron microscopy (SEM) technology

Coal has been playing an important role as a valuable source of energy for many years. In turn, gas production from coal reservoirs is a modern development and coal bed methane (CBM), also known as coal seam gas (CSG), is attracting global attention due to its wide occurrence and benefits for the environment as opposed to the conventional energy sources. Developing coal bed methane reservoirs requires better understanding of the flow behaviours of gas and liquids in cleats and analysis of possible contribution of pores to the flow. This paper describes the implementation of micro computed tomography (micro-CT) and scan electron microscopy (SEM) techniques for analysis of coal samples. Intermediate rank coal samples used in this study were collected from Southern Qinshui Basin (China). In the course of the described research, coal samples were scanned, processed and segmented to study the cleat spacing and permeability. Due to the partial volume effect, the resolution of cleats needed improvement which was achieved by subvoxel processing using a novel algorithm as explained in detail in the paper. Permeability was obtained through simulation of one phase flow using Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). The results show that the simulated permeability is comparable to the analytical approximation. The subvoxel processing has proved an effective method of overcoming the partial volume effect for the low resolution micro-CT images.

Influence radius of gas extraction borehole in an anisotropic coal seam: Underground in‐situ measurement and modeling

AbstractCoal seam degasification by in‐seam drilling borehole is one of the popular techniques for coal mine methane (CMM) control. How to address the conflict between borehole numbers and drainage durations always arouses researchers’ interests. Furthermore, since coal has anisotropy structures, how the anisotropy feature of coal associated with bedding and cleat structure affects the influence radius of the drainage borehole has rarely been considered. In order to address the above‐mentioned issues, this work not only conducted underground in‐situ measurement of the borehole influence radius within 200 days in an anisotropy coal seam at Jiulishan coal mine in China, but also modeled the influence radius evolvement around borehole in an anisotropy coal seam using finite‐element based COMSOL package. The underground in‐situ measurement revealed an anisotropy feature of borehole influence radius associated with coal bedding and cleat structures. The influence radius of borehole parallel to the bedding plane in butt cleat direction is much larger than that perpendicular to the bedding plane. Ten permeability measurements of coal show that the permeability of coal parallel to the bedding plane in butt cleat direction is higher than that perpendicular to the bedding plane. Simulation results of the gas transport model in coal are consistent with underground in‐situ measurement in determining the influence radius of drainage borehole in the anisotropy coal seam. Based on modeling results, the ellipse influence area of borehole in an anisotropy coal seam is proposed, and the relationship between the influence radius of borehole and drainage time is obtained. On the basis of these findings, the proper in‐seam borehole arrangements for a specific mining panel at different drainage durations are determined. The finding of this work will be fundamental for addressing the conflict between minimizing the cost of borehole arrangement and increasing coal mining productions by adjusting CMM drainage durations.

Digital coal: Generation of fractured cores with microscale features

Coal is highly heterogeneous at multiple scales, such that the characterisation of coal lags behind that of conventional reservoir rocks. This paper demonstrates the capability of a digital coal model that can be used to characterise the multiscale structure of coal as well as its petrophysical properties at the core scale (cm). X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) is applied to obtain the internal cleat structure of a heterogeneous fractured coal sample, based on which statistics of coal lithotype distributions and cleat geometrical properties are extracted. Digital coal models are constructed stochastically according to the measured statistics. Resulting models preserve the core scale (cm) heterogeneity and pore scale (µm to mm) cleat properties of the imaged coal sample. Furthermore, petrophysical evaluation is performed based on the stochastic digital coal models. We find that the generated digital coal models can provide permeability estimation with errors of 26.7% in comparison to that of the original micro-CT data. Since the presented model is able to preserve the multiscale heterogeneities as well as petrophysical properties of coal, our work provides an alternative to segmented micro-CT images. Therefore, we can avoid the challenges that are inherent to micro-CT images, such as segmentation errors, size and resolution limitations. The digital coal model can also be a tool of linking the rock microstructure to petrophysical properties at the core scale, such that we can predict the permeability of coal based on its geometrical measures rather than expensive laboratory experiments.

Coal cleat reconstruction using micro-computed tomography imaging

Coal seam gas (CSG) is gaining global interests due to its natural abundance and environmental benefits in comparison to more traditional energy sources. However, due to its significant heterogeneity and complex porous structure, it is challenging to characterise and thus predict petrophysical properties. Moreover, the fracture network of coal poses a major challenge for direct numerical simulations on segmented images collected from X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT). The segmentation of coal images is problematic and often results in misclassification of coal features that subsequently causes numerical instabilities. This paper aims to develop an advanced image analysis method and a novel discrete fracture network model to circumvent these issues. Coal μCT data are utilised for the acquisition of structural parameters and then discrete fracture networks are built to reconstruct representative coal images. The modelling method mimics the cleat formation process and reproduces particular cleat network patterns. The reconstructed network preserves the key attributes of coal, i.e. connectivity and cleat structure, while not being limited in terms of size and/or resolution. Furthermore, direct numerical simulations based on lattice Boltzmann method are performed on the cleat network realisations to evaluate coal permeability. We find that directional permeabilities result in different system scaling effects because of the dependence on the underlying structure of the cleat network. The developed method facilitates the evaluation of the relationship between coal cleat structure and resulting flow properties, which are steps forward in the evaluation of coal petrophysical properties at the core scale.

A microfluidic framework for studying relative permeability in coal

A significant unconventional energy resource is methane gas stored in shallow coal beds, known as coal seam gas. The flow and transport of fluid in coal beds occur in a well-developed system of natural fractures, called cleats. In this study, we developed an efficient workflow for the fabrication of microfluidic chips based on X-ray micro-Computed Tomography (micro-CT) images of coal. A dry and wet micro-CT imaging technique is utilized to image coal cleats that would be otherwise non-resolvable. The obtained image of the cleat network is then etched into silicon wafers and used to fabricate poly dimethyl siloxane (PDMS) microfluidic devices. Fluid transport and displacement efficiency are visualized and quantified in real time by injecting water with a flow rate of 1μlmin−1 into the fabricated cleat structure initially saturated with air. A microfluidic approach is used to measure the relative permeability of a realistic coal cleat system by monitoring the liquid recovery at recorded saturations after the breakthrough. Relative permeability curves show the cross and end point values for the water and gas flow, and predict a maximum relative permeability of 0.15 for the water phase. Understanding the relationship between coal cleat structure and the resulting relative permeability is crucial for the optimization of methane gas extraction and to reduce the environmental concerns of excess surface water production. Also, pore network modelling based on the Maximal Ball (MB) concept is applied to predict relative permeability curves numerically. Our experimental results are in good agreement with pore network modelling outcomes and provide consistent and smooth macro-scale relationships along with direct observation of the pore-scale physics. Therefore not only can the microfluidic approach be used as a validation tool for multiphase flow numerical models but it can also provide direct visualization of transport properties unique to coals. Overall, our developed system provides a better understanding of fluid flow behaviour in coal and presents novel relative permeability data for coal seam gas reservoirs under identical conditions and cleat sizes.

Volumetric strain associated with methane desorption and its impact on coalbed gas production from deep coal seams

The permeability of deep (1000 m; 3300 ft) coal seams is commonly low. For deep coal seams, significant reservoir pressure drawdown is required to promote gas desorption because of the Langmuir-type isotherm that typifies coals. Hence, a large permeability decline may occur because of pressure drawdown and the resulting increase in effective stress, depending on coal properties and the stress field during production. However, the permeability decline can potentially be offset by the permeability enhancement caused by the matrix shrinkage associated with methane desorption. The predictability of varying permeability is critical for coalbed gas exploration and production-well management. We have investigated quantitatively the effects of reservoir pressure and sorption-induced volumetric strain on coal-seam permeability with constraints from the adsorption isotherm and associated volumetric strain measured on a Cretaceous Mesaverde Group coal (Piceance basin) and derived a stress-dependent permeability model. Our results suggest that the favorable coal properties that can result in less permeability reduction during earlier production and an earlier strong permeability rebound (increase in permeability caused by coal shrinkage) with methane desorption include (1) large bulk or Young's modulus; (2) large adsorption or Langmuir volume; (3) high Langmuir pressure; (4) high initial permeability and dense cleat spacing; and (5) low initial reservoir pressure and high in-situ gas content. Permeability variation with gas production is further dependent on the orientation of the coal seam, the reservoir stress field, and the cleat structure. Well completion with injection of N2 and displacement of CH4 only results in short-term enhancement of permeability and does not promote the overall gas production for the coal studied.

Hydrologic properties of coal beds in the Powder River Basin, Montana I. Geophysical log analysis

As part of a multidisciplinary investigation designed to assess the implications of coal-bed methane development on water resources for the Powder River Basin of southeastern Montana, six wells were drilled through Paleocene-age coal beds along a 31-km east–west transect within the Tongue River drainage basin. Analysis of geophysical logs obtained in these wells provides insight into the hydrostratigraphic characteristics of the coal and interbedded siliciclastic rocks and their possible interaction with the local stress field. Natural gamma and electrical resistivity logs were effective in distinguishing individual coal beds. Full-waveform sonic logs were used to determine elastic properties of the coal and an attendant estimate of aquifer storage is in reasonable agreement with that computed from a pumping test. Inspection of magnetically oriented images of the borehole walls generated from both acoustic and optical televiewers and comparison with coal cores infer a face cleat orientation of approximately N33°E, in close agreement with regional lineament patterns and the northeast trend of the nearby Tongue River. The local tectonic stress field in this physiographic province as inferred from a nearby 1984 earthquake denotes an oblique strike-slip faulting regime with dominant east–west compression and north–south extension. These stress directions are coincident with those of the primary fracture sets identified from the televiewer logs and also with the principle axes of the drawdown ellipse produced from a complementary aquifer test, but oblique to apparent cleat orientation. Consequently, examination of these geophysical logs within the context of local hydrologic characteristics indicates that transverse transmissivity anisotropy in these coals is predominantly controlled by bedding configuration and perhaps a mechanical response to the contemporary stress field rather than solely by cleat structure.

Base plate and earth coupling assembly for shear wave transducers

Apparatus for supporting a vibrational shear wave transducer and coupling shear-wave energy into the earth's surface. The apparatus includes separate lateral base plate assemblies having the vibrator assembly operatively disposed therebetween, and the vibrator frame structure includes necessary hydraulic porting structure and supports manifold and servo valve control structure to provide a unitary, improved form of transducer apparatus. Each of the lateral base plate assemblies further includes a removable earth-coupling structure in the form of inverted pyramid or cleat structure having characteristic apex angles in both the lateral and longitudinal dimension so that earth coupling of energy is optimally effected.